A robot is generally understood to mean a device or system which performs a task predefined by a human where the human exerts control indirectly such as by programming the robot to do the job before the robot actually performs the job or such as exerting control over the robot from a remote location using an intermediate control system.
An important problem with directing the activities of a robot by remote control is to reduce the length of time and effort required to train an operator how to operate the control system. The ideal solution to this problem would be a system where the robot senses conditions in robot environment in exactly the same way that a human would sense the conditions, sends signals to the operator which the operator senses in exactly the same way as if he were to take the place of the robot, and then sends signals back to the robot by reacting in a human way to the signals transmitted by the robot. In such a system, the operator would issue many commands to the robot subconsciously as a natural reaction to signals received from the robot.
A robot that performs functions in a very hulnanesque manner would be useful in a number of environments. One environment would be a commercial environment such as a department store or a recreational area where a robot might be used as an attraction to the public by greeting the public, directing traffic or handing out pamphlets or treats. Another environment might include a "clean room" such as a hospital operating room or a semiconductor manufacturing site where it is desirable to exclude excessive human presence to prevent any degree of contamination.
It is therefore desireable to have the robot project a human-like presence at locations remote from an operator who may sense the robot environment through sensing signal communicated by the robot to the operator and communicate command signals to the robot to act in response to the environment. For this coordinated operator-robot responses, the remote robot is hereby called an "antiphon".
Some members of the public are somewhat intimidated by a machine (robot) that performs operations normally performed by humans but lacks "humanesque" characteristics. Most members of the public are fascinated by inanimate devices that resemble humans in performing their operations. For these reasons, it is desirable in these applications to make the robot as "humanesque" as possible.
Numerous patents have issued related to robot technology.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,873 discloses an articulated mechanical arm capable of movement and having a set of transducers for signals representing movement when it is manually displaced in an initial "teaching" operation and using the signals to repeat the movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,085 to Pryor discloses an electro-optical system for monitoring the positioning of a movable arm.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,481,569 to Hoodbhoy discloses a feedback system for a robot controller in which feedback signals from the robot to the controller are used to make positioning of the robot more accurate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,600,869 to Sekine et al discloses a device for inputting coordinates of a robot position using a sensor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,604,559 to Hawkes et al discloses a robot controlled by a user wherein an audio signal is fed back from the robot to the user regarding force and movement parameters of the robot operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,694,230 to Slocum et al discloses a precise positioning device including means for detecting an opposition force.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,773 to Parker et al discloses a robot having a robot hand with a pair of opposing finger in which force exerted between the robot fingers is sensed using strain gages and used to control motion of the fingers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,719 to Asano et al discloses a multi-joint arm having motors for controlling joint angles.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,047 to Arai et al discloses a multiple degree of freedom manipulator having a plurality of joints, some of the joints having brakes, and other joints having actuators in which the braking is determined by torque signals from the actuators.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,954,952 to Ubhayaka et al discloses a flexible multi digit arm with a set of fingers in which operation of the arm is radio controlled.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,980,839 to Souji et al discloses a robot having a rotary encoder for monitoring position of the arm.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,142,211 to Tan discloses a five axis robot including three translational and two rotational degrees of freedom.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,155,423 discloses a robot comprising a set of unitized joint modules assembled in series to form an arm utilizing feedback control derived from sensing torque on each unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,316 to Glovier discloses a robotic joint in which each joint carries a motor and is attached directly to the shaft of another motor. Each motor turns in accordance with the resistance to turning of the shaft.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,299,288 to Glassman et al discloses an image directed robot system for surgical applications including an optical tracking camera supplying data to the controlling processor.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,371,836 discloses a robot and method including memorizing a path taken by an extremity of the robot and a gripping position monitored by a video display,
U.S. Pat. No. 5,469,531 to Faure et al discloses a robot manipulator controlled by a combination of displacement and force actuators.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,478 to Wang discloses an automated endoscope system for optimal positioning featuring foot pedal control of the endoscope.
None of the cited art discloses a control of a robot by a human using movement that is natural to the operator. For example, it is not "natural" to extend an endoscope by depressing a footpedal. As another example, in a lifting operation, it is normal for a human to adjust the force of his lift in accordance with his sense of the force that he is overcoming to lift an object.